I grew up on boiled peanuts. They were usually in a bowl in my great granddaddy's outdoor "shelter" refrigerator. The shelter was an outside building full of windows - kind of like a sunroom, but separate from the main house. It had a sitting area with outdoor wooden furniture inside, a kitchen with sink and stove, a kitchen table, jars and jars of canned vegetables floating in liquid, shelves of plants with crazy, jungle-like branches (these were sort of spooky), and a phone and a coo-coo clock that was always mystery to me. I'd sometimes sit and watch it coo coo and wonder and marvel over it. There was also a little "pump room" inside the shelter with a short freezer inside. The ice froze on the inside walls of this freezer and every Sunday granddaddy would scoop off that ice into cups with a metal spoon with a wooden handle. My cousin, Bryan, and I loved those icys! The shelter had a back porch too, with a collection of rocking chairs and a recliner! After Sunday dinner, all of the men would go outside and rock in the rocking chairs with toothpicks hanging from their mouths and talk about men stuff. This was the norm every Sunday afternoon. After the dishes were washed by one aunt, dried by another aunt and then put away, all of the women would come outside, but only after they'd sat around the table, clipping coupons and talking what I call "trash." This consisted of who was sittin' by who at church (this was usually about a couple who had recently split up and was sitting next to someone that was not their spouse!) and other important gossip like that. I always got to sit around the table with them, unless I'd talked some trash of my own earlier at the dinner table. On these Sundays, I thought it best to go take a nap in Great Grandma's room. If on one of these particular Sundays when I was taking a nap (to better behave for the rest of the day) I always covered up with a silky quilt that my great grandma made. I loved this quilt - it was "cold" to the touch and I'd fall asleep with a corner of it snuggled beside my face.
Back to the boiled peanuts... they were kept inside the porch refrigerator - with the men and the toothpicks. Anytime I opened it, there was always a big bowl of boiled peanuts inside. They were the best I've ever had. Jim would say they were too soggy, but to me they were perfect. Jim is from Green Bay - what does he know about a good boiled peanut? When I met Jim, he of all people introduced me to Cajun Boiled Peanuts. Well, I must admit, I loved them. We'd stop all of the time at Parker's Gas Station in Port Wentworth and get a large cupful. Now I've found a recipe of my own! They are nothing compared to my Great Granddaddy's boiled peanuts, but they are worthy of eating anyway.
This is my own version of Cajun Boiled Peanuts - I hope you like it!
Cajun Boiled Peanuts
5 lbs. fresh green peanuts
2/3 cup salt for every gallon of water
1 bottle Weber New Orleans Cajun Seasoning
Wash the peanuts and put them in an empty 3-quart stockpot. Add enough water to barely float the peanuts, measuring the amount of water required. Add 2/3 cup salt for each gallon of water used. Stir to distribute the salt.
Add 1/2 bottle of cajun seasoning, stir again.
Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cover the pan and cook the peanuts for 1 1/2 hours or until the shelled peanuts are tender. Taste, taste, taste. Add water during cooking if the peanuts are no longer floating in the liquid. Remove from the heat and cool in the cooking liquid.
The peanuts will become saltier as they sit in the liquid, so taste them at intervals as they are cooling. When they are salty as you like them, drain the peanuts (do not rinse) and store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Important Note: If the boiled peanuts are too salty because you've let them sit too long in the salted water cooling, DO NOT FRET. Simply soak them in plain water to dilute the saltiness. You might have to change the water a few times to continue soaking in fresh water. This works like a charm!
